Roadside Find in Dillard

Once in a while you run across a real culinary jewel where you least expect it. I was driving down Hwy. 441 heading towards Clayton, and I was hungry. I wasn't really in the mood for fast food, or a heavy meat & 3 lunch, or something I would have to wait long for...so as I approached Dillard I was on the lookout for something different. I found it just off 441 in the row of stores and shops that line the downtown area when I pulled up in front of the Java Mama Cafe.

A menu in the front window looked enticing so I decided to give it a try. The cafe was bigger than it looked from the outside, with ample seating and even a nice couch up front that would be a good spot to enjoy your coffee and read the paper. The menu is not huge but not limited either. Choices include whole or half sandwiches accompanied by tortilla chips and homemade peach salsa, soup of the day, salads and snacks. The "liquid" menu includes smoothies,frappes and an extensive selection of coffees, teas and espresso drinks.

The roast beef sandwich with Muenster cheese and horseradish sauce looked good to me, along with a half garden salad with a homemade vinagrette dressing. My sandwich was very good and the peach salsa was fantastic. I'm not sure tortilla chips were the perfect side for this particular sandwich, but they were good as well. The salad was very fresh and I would have liked some of the dressing to take home. I browsed a menu while I was eating and decided that I would try the cranberry-walnut chicken salad on my next visit along with a green apple smoothie-so I do plan to return and would certainly recommend the Java Mama Cafe to our readers!

Java Mama Cafe
6818 Hwy 441N
Dillard, GA 30537
706.746.4470

Best Biscuit in Batesville

Approaching Batesville from any direction, you will see a sign advertising the Batesville General Store and "The Best Biscuit in Batesville". I think that might be just a little modest, the biscuits are the best I've had from Helen to Clayton at least. The store (pictured above) is a well preserved 104 year old landmark located on Ga. Hwy 197 near Lake Burton. A few knick-nacks are still sold inside the store, but the main business these days is breakfast and lunch.

I've had a couple of sandwiches for lunch at the store over the years, and they were good..but the special thing to me at the Batesville General Store is breakfast..even if it is lunch time. A generous breakfast menu is available-eggs, bacon, sausage,grits, etc..but the stars of the show here are the freshly baked biscuits just like your (if you are from the south like me) Grandma used to make. These are big, fat laden biscuits begging for sausage and an egg or a big dollop of sorghum syrup to encase... the perfect energy food to prepare for you for a day of hiking or fishing in the mountains surrounding the Batesville area.

Plenty of room is available for inside dining, or you can pull in and pick up your breakfast or lunch to take with you. Service has always been prompt and friendly on my visits, and the folks are more than willing to answer questions you might have about the store or area attractions. Dinner is served on Friday and Saturday nights and from the reports I've heard it is very good, though I haven't sampled dinner at the store myself. Batesville General Store is located at 11801 Hwy. 197 N...12 miles from both Helen and Clarkesville. Their phone number is 706.947.3434

Greenstone Soap Company

When I first launched Mountainfreak.net back in January, I asked new readers to send me links to their favorite places in the north Georgia mountains for the page we have devoted to those links. One of the first responses was from a reader who raved about the Greenstone Soap Co. in the Sautee village. I added the link and honestly didn't think much more about it. On a recent trip to Sautee I was doing some shopping and noticed the store, pictured above.

I'm a guy. Soap is a pretty high priority in my life, but the kind of soap has never been. I usually go for the cheapest 12 bar pack at the discount store that has brand name I might recognize. Despite my lack of soap sophistication, I decided to check Greenstone Soap Co. out and introduce myself-since they were one of our first links on the site-and see this part of the soap world that had eluded me up till that point.

I fully expected to open the door to air laden with the floral perfumes I had come to know as a young child going into people's bathrooms where they kept those little round soaps you were warned to never wash your hands with, but that wasn't the case. It smelled good and fresh, not overpowering at all. I was immediately drawn to the "Shampoochie" dog soap, advertised to help dogs with itchy skin. Bob the Mountainfreak Dog (pictured below) has such problems so I bought a bar...it seems to have helped. I also got a bar of human soap, "Appalachian Wilderness", which I have tried and really enjoy. It has a fragrance like spruce mixed with herbs and is very refreshing.

It would take a lot of space to list all the offerings available at the Greenstone Soap Co., but there are lotions, bath salts and a wide variety of other handmade, organic products available. If you are in the Sautee area, stop by and check them out for yourself-if you can't make it up any time soon you can browse their website online - The Greenstone Soap Company.

Ghost Town with a Golden Past

Not much is left of Auraria. If you blink twice you might miss the remains of what was once a gold rush boom town. Woody's Store and the crumbling remains of what was once the Graham Hotel, both built around 1830, are most of what is left now.

Gold was discovered in Lumpkin County in 1828 by a fellow named Benjamin Parks while hunting in what was then the domain of the Cherokee Indians. Word soon spread of the discovery and over 1000 miners converged on the area in search of their fortunes. Two separate towns emerged from this influx of citizens, Dahlonega and Auraria. Auraria was the county seat of Lumpkin County for four years beginning in 1828. The main street in Auraria was lined with saloons, dry good stores and other businesses that catered to the needs of the miners.



Dahlonega became the county seat in 1832. Gold production was heavy for the first few years, leading to the establishment of the Dahlonega Federal Mint. Over $20 million in gold was mined in Lumpkin County between 1828 and 1849, when most of the mining and miners mover to California to join the famous west coast gold rush.

Auraria remained a viable town as hydraulic mining was introduced in the late nineteenth century, but the lack of a railroad and the growth of Dahlonega caused Auraria to become less important and a shadow of it's former importance. The old store last known as Woody's continued to operate until the 1980s, when the last vestige of commerce ceased to exist in Auraria.

Today, people pass Auraria on ther way from the nice subdivisions and homes north of Dawsonville to Dahlonega. A mile from the old store, Castleberry Bridge Rd. crosses the Etowah River which is popular with canoeists, fishermen and kayakers. Subtle remnants of the gold days are evident along the river but go unobserved for the most part.

Some Photos sent in to Mountainfreak.net-Flooding from TS Fay in Helen

Jordano's Pizza on the River in Helen

Jordano's is a fixture in downtown Helen...serving New York style pizza, sandwiches, salads and beer daily to both visitors and residents alike. It sits in a prime location alongside the Chattahoochee River with a nice, covered outdoor dining deck- a great spot to grab a bite or a brew and enjoy the sights and sounds of Helen.
We stopped in for lunch on a recent Saturday prior to tubing down the river. I had eaten Jordano's pizza in the past and considered it fairly average, so we went with the Caesar Salads and Chicken Parmesan sandwiches this go around. The salad was excellent with a very authentic tasting Caesar dressing and some kitchen-made croutons. The sandwiches were good as well..tasty, yet not overwhelmed with the sauce and cheese as I've found elsewhere. Also available on the menu are Calzones and Stromboli, chicken wings, burgers and an assortment of appetizers.
A lot of folks were sitting outside watching the stream of tubers that we would soon join floating down the river and the deck was comfortable even in the mid day sun of July. Prices at Jordano's are reasonable..a rarity in Helen where "tourist" prices seem to dominate the restaurants. Service is efficient and friendly....major credit cards are accepted. I think Jordano's is one of the better places in downtown Helen to grab lunch and enjoy a comfortable and scenic setting.

Jordano's Pizza
11 River Street
Helen, GA 706.878.7732

Horsetrough Falls in North Georgia

I often get asked about waterfalls to visit in the north Georgia mountains. My answer usually depends on how much effort I feel the person asking wants to take in finding the falls. Amicalola Falls, Anna Ruby Falls and Dukes Creek Falls are all splendid and easy to get to-so those generally top my list...but I also like to include my personal favorite, Horsetrough Falls.
Located near the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River about 12 miles north of Helen (by road-a little closer as the crow flies), Horsetrough Falls carries Horsetrough Creek down a series of rocky cascades on it's way to join the fledgling Chattahoochee about 200 yards below the falls. The setting at the base of the falls is cathedral-like due to the density of the forest in the summertime, which allows the sun to only break through completely in the opening created by the tumbling creek.
Horsetrough Falls can be accessed through the Upper Chattahoochee Campground, which is located on FS44, a gravel track that runs from Unicoi Gap to just north of Robertstown. For the more adventurous I would suggest approaching from Robertstown. To travel this route, take GA Hwy 75 north from Helen to alt 75 (left just past the flea market). As soon as you cross over the bridge take an immediate right onto Poplar Stump Rd. This road follows the Chattahoochee for about a mile before the pavement ends and it becomes FS44. FS44 is well maintained gravel. Follow FS44 to Low Gap Creek then follow the signs to the Upper Chattahoochee Campground. The 800' trail to the falls begins at the very back of the campground. An alternate route is to take GA 75 north of Helen approx. 8 miles to Unicoi Gap, then turn left onto FS44. Upper Chattahoochee Campground is 5 miles away from this point.
The trip is well worth it no matter which route you take-and this is also a beautiful drive in the fall when the leaves change, which won't be long now.